《康熙大帝》英文版[07]
This ink and wash painting was done by a painter recommended by Zhu Guozhi, the provincial governor of Jiangning. After the death of Dong-e, Shunzhi refused to eat or drink for five days and as a result became bedridden.The imperial doctors came up with numerous prescriptions to treat the dying emperor but to no avail. Emperor Dowager Xiao Zhuang Borjigit was at her wit’s end when the elderly and experienced Hong Chengchou proposed that “mental anguish can only be relieved by psychological treatment.” The Empress Dowager lost no time in issuing the edict that Dong-e be raised to Empress posthumously. Dozens of skillful painters from capital environs, Zhili, Shandong, and Jiangsu provinces were assembled in Beijing to draw a portrait of Empress Dong-e in an attempt to comfort the Emperor. However, no matter what kind of descriptions was given, not a single painter could recreate a lifelike portrait of her. When the portrait painted by Chen Luoyun was presented to the Palace, it caused quite a stir. Everyone who saw the portrait -- whether it was those who had regularly waited on the Empress or those who had only seen her – unanimously agreed that the portrait was a remarkably detailed resemblance of the late Empress Dong-e that not only captured her physical appearance but even her spirit! Despite his poor eyesight, the ailing Shunzhi jumped out of his bed and grabbed the portrait in his arms when Chang Hao presented the portrait for an imperial review. “Oh, my dear! I thought you were dead but you are still alive!” Overjoyed with this turn of events, Empress Dowager awarded Chen Luoyun with one thousand taels of silver out of her own funds. This incident thereafter became a legendary episode in the capital. Zhu Guozhi thus surpassed the triple rankings of Dao, Nie and Fan and was immediately promoted to be the governor of Jiangning.
Shunzhi's sweetheart
After that, although he gradually started to take food, Shunzhi still never fully recovered back to normal. He did go to the Hall of Public Audience but he neither approved nor rejected the memorials of the officials. He was constantly in a dazed, dream-like state. Each day after he paid his respects to the Empress Dowager, Shunzhi made his way to this Chamber, where he would stare at the portrait in a trance. One day one of the Empress Dowager’s elderly imperial guards intruded into the Chamber without asking for permission. Shunzhi flew into a rage and ordered the guard to kneel on the terrace and slap his own face forty times, disregarding the feelings of the Empress Dowager.
From then on, no one dared to disturb him when he was at this Chamber. Right now, Shunzhi was standing before the miniature portrait. Dong-e looked at him with her knitted brows, her eyes full of love and affection, yet also carried a hint of bitterness. The flowing sleeves gave him the impression that she had come to life and was about to step out of the windy autumn landscape strewn with fallen golden leaves. Shunzhi could not help but cry out, “O God of Heaven! Since I am your son, why are you so cruel to me?”
Right at this moment, six very concerned people were sitting beside the lamp in the waiting room to the east of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, which was close to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. They were driven out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation by Shunzhi before the Empress Dowager arrived there. Despite their wounded pride, they dared not return to their own residences so they gathered in the waiting room.
Palace of Heavenly Purity
The foremost person, Kang Prince Jie Shu, was the cousin of Emperor Shunzhi. Seated on a kang (a brickbed), he stared at Suo Ni, Ye Bilong, Suke Saha and Ao Bai, who all sat there like the Buddha statues in a temple. They either sat upright in silence or lowered their heads to smoke their water pipes. Even the wisest and most resourceful of the advisors Hong Chengchou lapsed into silence. Jie Shu could not help but feel restless and anxious. He kept thinking to himself, “When are you guys going to say something! I am sure none of you agree to allow the Emperor to shave his head and become a monk?” Suo Ni, the Grand Minister of the Deliberative Council, was the most senior high-ranking official among them. He was nearly seventy and could barely keep himself awake due to the loss of sleep for several nights.Lying on his side for a rest, he looked exhausted beyond words. Seeing that no one would speak out, he sighed, “It seems that we can do nothing about it. Every kind of means has been tried. Not only did we humble ourselves and ask for punishment, the Empress Dowager also kneeled down to talk him out of it. But all of these attempts have been to no avail. What else can we do?” Ao Bai, who sat in the corner and whose face took on a glowering expression, spat and said, “How can he indulge himself like this over a dead woman? He should get a life instead of being half dead and half alive…”
Hong Chengchou, a Chinese official who served under the Ming and Qing dynasties
Before he could finish, Suo Ni interrupted him by saying, “What kind of remark is that? Don’t you know that complaining about this is absolutely useless? Since the Emperor has already made up his mind, right now we should be thinking about what our next step should be!”
Ye Bilong, who sat right next to Ao Bai and detected that the latter was kind of irritated, rose slightly and remarked, “As far as I can see, the Emperor will leave the court forever after he is gone. He is bound to make out a testamentary edict. There is no doubt that the third imperial prince will be the designated successor.”
This announcement took everybody by surprise. But everyone knew that what he said must be true since Ye Bilong was always well-informed and thought thrice before speaking. Suke Saha leaned forward and asked, “Could you shed some more light on this?”
Ye Bilong lowered his voice and replied, “This is the opinion held by Johann Adam Schall von Bell. The third imperial prince has had smallpox so he is immune to it throughout his life.” The mention of Schall von Bell hushed everyone. He was a German who had stayed in China for over forty years as a missionary. Recommended by Xu Guangqi, an official of former Ming Dynasty, he was posted in the Imperial Academy. As an expert in the Western almanac, he could predict the eclipses of sun and moon with great accuracy. Based on his expertise in this field, he was appointed as the Director of the Imperial Observatory and in charge of astronomic and calendric affairs. Shunzhi held him in such high esteem that he revered him like an immortal Under his influence, the Empress Dowager even converted to Catholicism from Buddhism. His opinion was extremely influential in court decisions. If Schall von Bell held this view, then it was beyond any doubt that the successor must be the third imperial prince Xuan Ye.
Johann Adam Schall von Bell, a German Jesuit and astronomer who spent most of his life as a missionary in China and became an adviser to the Shunzhi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.
Jie Shu pondered for a while before continuing, “How about submitting another request to get an audience with the Emperor so we can get to know his real intention?” Ao Bai retorted before he could finish, “How can we even expect to get near him when he is guarded by those “four iron doors”?” The “four iron doors” referred to Shunzhi’s four imperial guards, Wo He and his three other guards, who took orders from no one except the Emperor. At the mention of this obstacle, no one could come up with a way of approaching Shunzhi.
A long pause ensued before Ao Bai snorted and said, “Well, that’s really great – having a foreign barbarian tell us who’s gonna be our next emperor!” Suke Saha objected by saying, “As for this matter, no question shall be raised as long as he is right, no matter he is a foreigner or not.” Ao Bai, who despised Suke Saha the most, was quick to rejoinder, “Now that’s stupid thing to say!”
Disgusted by the bickering between Ao Bai and Suke Saha, Suo Ni intervened by saying, “Both of you, stop it now. As important ministers of our country, you both should know how to behave yourselves better.” At this rebuke, Ao Bai and Suke Saha turned their heads away and fell into silence. The gurgling sound of smoking water pipes rendered the atmosphere in the room even more depressing. Hong Chengchou, who remained mute for quite a while, lifted his haggard face, stretched his limbs and broke the ice, “Let’s wait and see since we cannot disobey the will of the Emperor. I assume that he will make necessary arrangements.”
